Leonys Martin needed a few looks to figure out Ryan Madson’s changeup, and then he solved the off-speed pitch in a big way.
Martin hit a game-ending, two-run homer off the closer in the ninth inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 6-5 comeback victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.
“I have faced him a few times and he has never thrown me a changeup,” Martin said. “I do not even know what the action on the ball [is]... I just see the ball, swing and do not get too aggressive.”
Photo: AP
Seattle trailed 5-2 after seven innings, but got a two-run homer from Robinson Cano in the eighth off John Axford.
Madson (2-1) came on in the ninth and got two quick outs before Norichika Aoki punched a double down the left-field line.
Martin then drove a 1-2 pitch deep over the wall in right-center for his ninth home run.
“I slowed him down with four changeups in a row,” Madson said. “The last one was pretty much right down the middle. That is the frustrating part, the location of the last one. I have gone four in a row before, but you make the fourth one the best one. That is not what happened tonight.”
Martin, whose previous season high was eight homers in 457 at-bats with Texas in 2013, showed the black bat afterward with the seams of the ball visible on the barrel.
“As soon as I hit the ball, I knew it was going to be gone,” Martin said. “I crushed the ball. I was just trying to put the ball in play.”
Oakland erased a 2-1 deficit in the sixth, jumping on the Mariners bullpen to complete a four-run rally capped by Coco Crisp’s bases-loaded double off Mike Montgomery.
Montgomery (2-0) was not charged with the runs and finished the game with 3-1/3 scoreless innings.
Cano put the Mariners up 1-0 in the first, following a one-out single by Seth Smith with an RBI double to left-center.
Crisp brought the Athletics even in the third with his fourth homer, a one-out solo shot to right off Nathan Karns.
“It speaks a lot to the character of our club, and all I can say is: ‘Wow,’” Mariners coach Scott Servais said. “They just do not quit. The huge home run by Robbie to get us close, Aoki’s huge hit with two out and Leonys, what can you say? Mike Montgomery. A lot of heroes in tonight’s game. Keep fighting, keep battling and we have something good going on in the clubhouse. It is a lot of fun.”
Cano’s three RBIs pushed his total to 42, tops in the majors. He has reached safely in 23 consecutive games, hitting .344 (33 for 96) over that span with five homers, 10 doubles and 18 RBIs.
Oakland starter Kendall Graveman allowed two runs on seven hits in 4-1/3 innings, but that was an improvement over his previous five starts in which he was 0-5 with a 7.92 ERA.
In other games, it was:
‧ Indians 6, White Sox 2
‧ Nationals 7, Mets 4
‧ Red Sox 8, Rockies 3
‧ Tigers 3, Phillies 1
‧ Yankees 6, Blue Jays 0
‧ Pirates 12, Diamondbacks 1
‧ Cubs 12, Cardinals 3
‧ Brewers 2, Braves 1
‧ Rays 4, Marlins 3
‧ Royals 7, Twins 4
‧ Rangers 4, Angels 1
‧ Astros 3, Orioles 2. 13 Inns
‧ Giants 8, Padres 3
‧ Dodgers 8, Reds 2
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